


Under The Captain's Watch

by shittyfoureyes



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Era, Caretaking, Caring, Comfort, Cutesy, Domestic Fluff, Drabble, Established Relationship, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Implied Levi/Eren Yeager, Implied Relationships, Love, M/M, Sick Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-10
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 22:59:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5393438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shittyfoureyes/pseuds/shittyfoureyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi won't let Eren be defeated by some shitty flu.</p>
<p>(Hope you like it!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under The Captain's Watch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CeinwynCadarn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeinwynCadarn/gifts).



  
  
  
The sound of feet pounding the stone floor in one of the castle’s many long corridors is echoing off the walls. Many people pass through these halls at all hours of the day and night, their footsteps creating a similar effect, but this… this is different. These echoes carry a sense of foreboding, a warning, an omen preceding an oncoming storm.

It’s because they’re made by feet which are ever light and careful in their step, always stealth and soundless as a cat stalking in the shadows. By the time you can hear them coming it’s already too late.

The footsteps stop. There is a charged and eerie silence that lasts for barely a heartbeat and then there is a sound, a groan, the moaning of brass hinges on a heavy wooden door.

“Oi. Shitty glasses. Have you seen Eren?”

Levi is no longer stomping when he strides into Hanji’s laboratory, though his posture speaks of aggravation as much as his voice does.

“Ah, there you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I was just about to check the latrines, but now you’re here so that saves me some work!”

Levi growls, grits his teeth. Hanji laughs. How _adorable_ Levi is when he’s like this!

“That’s why I was looking for you. Eren’s not feeling well. He’s resting in the infirmary right now. Didn’t want you to think he was skipping out on his chores.”

Levi says nothing. Spins on his heel and storms right back into the corridor.

Hanji laughs again and this time it’s loud enough to carry down the hall to irritate Levi even more.

 

—

 

“You look like shit.”

Eren bolts upright in bed, immediately realizing his mistake when his head begins to spin and his lungs join in the protest against the sudden movement.

He tries to say something- _cat? cap?_ \- but immediately brings his hand up to his mouth to cover it with a white handkerchief as he begins to cough.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick? I would have given you the day off.”

Eren’s eyes grow wide when he sees Levi walk toward his bed. He shakes his head frantically, holding his palm up to tell Levi to _stop, halt, get back, don’t come any closer!_

“I felt fine this morning,” Eren rasps, handkerchief still pressed to his mouth. He sniffles and looks away. He doesn’t dare remove the handkerchief now, not only because he doesn’t want Levi to catch his illness, but also because he might die if Levi saw the river of snot running from his reddened nose. _Filthy._

Levi looks at the pathetic sight in front of him for a long while, thinking. Eren’s face is flushed, his hair a mess, his forehead glistening with sweat, and his eyes glassy and red. Poor kid.

He didn’t even know Eren _could_ get sick.

Eren squeaks when Levi sits on the edge of his bed and it tickles his irritated throat, triggering another fit of coughs. Levi flinches but doesn’t retreat. Eren tries to speak again, a whisper of the word _captain_. Levi shakes his head. _No, Eren, don’t try to talk._

Eren closes his eyes and begins to relax when he feels the warmth of Levi’s hand on his chest, a gentle instruction for him to lay back down and rest. His eyes spring open again, though, when he feels Levi come closer and press his lips to his disgusting, sweaty, disease-ridden forehead.

“Don’t, you’ll get sick,” Eren whispers through his handkerchief. He cringes when he realizes that he could _really_ use a clean one right about now.

“Stop talking. You’re going to cough up a lung. I needed to check you for fever.” Levi’s voice is soft and concerned, no hint of disgust in it at all… Until he takes a look around the room. There’s someone sleeping two beds over from Eren, a horrible wheezing sound coming from the lump under the sheet. “How are you supposed to get any better in this filthy place? Tch. Get up. Come with me.”

Levi rises from his spot next to Eren on the bed and watches him ever-so-slowly swing his legs over the edge of the mattress. Eren starts to stand but sits back down when the room starts spinning around him, never once dropping the handkerchief from his face.

Levi recognizes his error. This requires a different plan of attack. He bends over and in one smooth motion hoists Eren up into his arms. Eren scrunches his eyes tightly closed, his stomach feeling just about the same as his head now. He takes a few quick, deep breaths and Levi freezes completely still. _He better not._

Eren rests his burning head in the crook of his Captain’s neck (and does _not_ use his pristine white cravat to wipe his nose no matter how much he needs to) and doesn’t open his eyes again until he feels himself being lowered onto another bed.

_Levi’s_ bed.

“It’ll be better if you rest here. I don’t want you catching whatever plague that room is crawling with.” _I’ll always look after you, Eren._

Eren is too exhausted to bother arguing. Besides, the Captain is in charge. He won’t feel bad about this, he’s only obeying orders.

“I’ll be back. Get some sleep.”

Eren’s already dozed off. Levi looks at Eren’s sleeping face with a pained look in his eyes before he closes his bedroom door behind him.

 

\---

 

Eren wakes up when he feels something unfamiliar touching him. It’s cold and wet and when he opens his eyes to see what it is, he sees Levi sitting beside him on the bed. That's when he discovers that the source of that strange sensation is the folded cloth that Levi is patting on his forehead.

“How do you feel?”

Eren frowns. His eyes feel hot, his throat feels like sandpaper, his head feels like there’s a titan trying to break out of it, but he’s too afraid to speak lest he begin coughing again.

Levi’s eyes are so soft and caring looking down at him and it makes his stomach flip, but in a good way this time. His throat is still too sore to try speaking so he does the best he can do. He smiles and reaches for Levi’s hand, hesitating to make contact for a second, but eventually taking it into his own and weakly squeezing.

Levi smiles and squeezes back.

“Can you sit up?” Eren nods. Slowly. The room hasn’t stopped moving yet and he isn't positive exactly which way _up_ is. Levi slings an arm around Eren to help and then twists to the side to retrieve something from the nightstand.

“Here. This will help your throat.”

Eren takes the cup in both hands, holding it beneath his nose and attempting to inhale the soothing steam. He can’t smell at all so he’s not sure what it is, but after he’s cleared his sinuses a little he finally takes a sip. Can’t taste anything, either, but whatever it is feels incredibly good going down his throat. He takes a few minutes to finish it, sniffling in between sips. Levi is watching him the entire time, stroking his sweat-matted hair, the cool hand on his head providing a much-needed reprieve from the heat of his fever.

When Eren has finished every last drop, Levi takes the cup from him and sets it back on the nightstand. Eren still looks exhausted and, quite honestly, it’s breaking his heart. He’s never seen Eren like this and he wants to fix it. _Now._

He will.

Eren’s eyelids are finally too heavy to keep open and soon he’s dozed off, falling fast asleep in a nest of clean sheets and soft pillows. Levi gazes with affection at his sleeping soldier, pointedly ignoring the encrusted nose so very close to his expensive pillowcase.

Whatever. He can wash it. Or burn it.

He begins to rise but decides to take one more look at Eren before getting up. You know, just to make sure he’s okay. He brushes his hand over his forehead again but he isn’t sure he’s getting an accurate temperature reading.

Levi leans down and presses his lips there instead. Makes sure to keep them there long enough to be absolutely certain that his fever is going down. One can never be too careful.

He sighs and blows out the candle on the nightstand before finally standing. He now sits at the desk across from his bed to keep his eye on his _paperwork_ until he finally convinces himself that a measly flu is no match for Humanity's Strongest and that there's always been plenty of room on his bed for two.

 

 

 

 


End file.
